Top Joke-Telling Tips

The best jokes told are the ones not read from a script. Try to memorize and practice your joke before telling it. If you can tell it without looking at notes, it will sound much more natural. NOTE - No one really says, "he replied" or "she responded." These are purely written joke phrases. Get rid of them!

Get into character

Change your voice or accent for each of the characters in your joke and try making some impromptu sound effects to accentuate the story.

Embellish

Joke-telling is storytelling. Use details (place names, character descriptions, etc) to make your joke sound more like a real story that you are recounting to a friend. Details draw the audience in and disguise the impending, and hopefully hilarious, twist ending.

Go retro with a Land Line

If you don't have a great cell signal, or a high quality cordless phone, you may be better off going old-school with a landline.

Don't distort

Don't hold the phone too close to your mouth and don't yell. You'd be surprised how sensitive telephone microphones are.

Record it again

If your train of thought derails halfway through the joke, re-record it. Umm's and missed cues should not make it into a Comic Wonder-worthy performance.

We love jokes, but who still reads jokes? A joke isn't a joke until it's told, which is why we started Comic Wonder, a competitive arena for joke-tellers - the first forum where people can perform, rate and share audio jokes. Our mission is to scour the earth looking for the best joke-teller in the world and declare that person the Comic Wonder of the Year!